Welcome to The Lifelong Activist

"I wrote this book because I believe that progressive activists are the world’s most precious resource. We tackle the most difficult and important problems—including hunger, war, disease, poverty, violence, cruelty and exploitation—and work to further humanity’s evolution in the direction of compassion and kindness. Conservatives may create more wealth, but we create more of the values, including justice, equality and freedom, that make life worth living.

Let’s Get Started

Part 1: Managing Your Mission

Who are you? That question should be at the heart of your quest to build a sustainable activist career—actually, it should be at the heart of your quest to build a happy and productive life. It is a question that every human being should give deep thought to throughout her or his life.

Part 2: Managing Your Time

Time management is important because it really is “life management.” The basic premise of time management is this: The things you spend time on, and devote quality attention to, are the things you will improve at or make progress on. In contrast, the things you don’t spend time on, or devote quality attention to, are the things you will not improve at or make progress on.

Part 3: Managing Your Fears

It would be wonderful if, once you got started with your time management, you continued to do it effortlessly; if it became second nature to you, and you just kept getting better and better at it, and better and better at your work... but that’s usually not what happens.

Part 4: Managing Your Relationship with Self

As a human being and an activist, your most important goal should be to work on your own self-actualization, because in the process of becoming self-actualized you will gain the qualities you need to work on all of your other goals. Self-actualization creates strength and character and commitment: it is a political act, really, and the foundation for all of your future political acts.

Part 5: Managing Your Relationship with Others

Activism is the act of influencing a person or group of people with the goal of eliciting a desired behavioral change. That change might be that the person votes for your candidate or ballot initiative; joins, donates to or participates more fully in your organization; or adopts a new habit such as energy conservation or vegetarianism.

Conclusion

Notes

Resources/Bibliography

What is Activist Training?

I deliver trainings based on The Lifelong Activist and my other work that will help you become more effective and productive in your activism and other important endeavors. I am looking for activist groups to work with. Please email me.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Web home of my book, The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way (Lantern Books, 2006). It is based on my many years’ experience as an activist and coach: work in which I learned which personal habits, thoughts and beliefs tend to help people succeed at ambitious goals, and which don’t. The Lifelong Activist encompasses all I have learned, and recasts it for use by progressive activists, organizers, educators and others. It will thus teach you how to:

Manage Your Mission: so you can determine your authentic path and not act out of guilt, shame or obligation

Manage Your Time: so you can create a schedule that allows you to live your mission, and to achieve the most within that mission

Manage Your Fears: so you can follow the schedule without succumbing to procrastination, perfectionism or blocks

Manage Your Relationship With Self: so you can be the strongest, most empowered, and most joyful person you can be. (And why that goal is fundamentally progressive.)

Manage Your Relationship With Others: so you can leverage your energy, time, skills and other resources with those of others.

The Lifelong Activist has sold thousands of copies, with many thousands more free excerpts in circulation around the Web. (It’s also gotten some great reviews – see the rightmost column.) But not until now has the whole text been available for free to any activist who wishes it. I’m so glad you’re here: please take your time and look around, and please tell others. Also, please sign up for my mailing list for monthly articles on topics related to time management and overcoming barriers to productivity and happiness.

I hope you find the information useful, and encourage you to write if you have questions or need advice. Although I coach for a living, I will do my best to provide at least a short response to questions or concerns from any progressive. I also hold online classes which are an inexpensive way to get in-depth support, and of course I also do one-on-one coaching.

I believe that progressive activists are the world’s most precious resource. We tackle the most difficult and important problems— including hunger, war, disease, poverty, violence, cruelty and exploitation— and work to further humanity’s evolution in the direction of compassion and kindness. Conservatives may create more wealth, but we create more of the values, including justice, equality and freedom, that make life worth living. As history has repeatedly shown us, and as we are unfortunately witnessing in the United States today, wealth without the tempering of progressive values and mores leads inevitably to corruption and despair.

P.S. – Translators Needed! If you are fluent in a language other than English, please consider translating a part of The Lifelong Activist that is meaningful to you. Even a couple of pages could make a difference to another activist! When you’re done, I’ll post your translation on this site.

About Hillary Rettig

Welcome! My goal is to help you recognize and overcome any disempowering forces in your work and life so you can reclaim your joyful productivity, and achieve your personal and professional goals more quickly and easily than you ever imagined! Thanks for checking out my site, and I always welcome your comments, suggestions, and questions at hillary@hillaryrettig.com.

Like my page on Facebook!
Follow me on Twitter
The single best thing you can do to support me and my work is to review one of my books on Amazon or elsewhere. Thank you in advance!

Get Social, Get Email

Subscribe to our mailing list

Readers Are Saying

“...The Lifelong Activist is incredibly important and has no doubt helped people make the world a better place. I first read it as I began to burnout a few years into my life as an activist. It helped me a great deal and has helped me support others.“

— Reader, Toronto, ON

“...a strange blend of realism and idealism. I like the way you cut through the romance and deal with the nitty gritty in a way that is powerful and uplifting.“

— Reader, Chicago, IL

“Global warming, poverty, homelessness, or other pressing problems; take your pick—and then use the organizing and time-management tools in The Lifelong Activist to change the world.“

— Adam Hochschild, author of Bury The Chains and King Leopold’s Ghost

“People often ask how I manage to continue devoting myself to progressive activism (such as the free software movement) for years without burning out. The best way I can answer is by recommending…The Lifelong Activist.”